The Mets (19-24) dropped the first of a two-game series against the Orioles (20-21) Tuesday evening in Queens. 

The loss was an all around disaster as New York’s bats went cold and the pitching staff was absolutely clobbered. Mets’ pitchers gave up 14 hits, walked two, and struck out seven. They allowed four home runs. Michael Wacha took the loss and is now 1-3 on the season. 

As a team, New York could only muster six hits. They drew one walk, struck out eight times, and left four on base. The team’s pair of runs came on solo homers by Jake Marisnick in the second and Jeff McNeil in the eighth. 

The loss stings as every game is crucial with the Mets now sitting three games out of a Wild Card spot. As the season begins to wind down, the team sits five games under .500 and has not held a winning record since the 6th day of the season. (Box Score)

PITCHING

Michael Wacha got the start for New York and threw four innings, allowing four earned runs on seven hits with three strikeouts. The struggling right-hander has yet to put it all together since returning from the injured list and now owns a 7.50 ERA on the season. 

Wacha tossed a 1-2-3 first inning. The starter got hit hard in the second, giving up a leadoff base hit to Pedro Severino and a subsequent DJ Stewart homer that gave the O’s an early 2-0 advantage. With two outs, Wacha put runners on second and third with a Rio Ruiz single and and Cedric Mullins double but a clutch play from third by Todd Frazier sent a strike to first base and got the final out of the frame. 

Jose Iglesias kicked off the third with a leadoff single but Renato Nunez grounded into a force out to put the shortstop away at second. With Nunez at first, Ryan Mountcastle knocked a homer right over Jake Marisnick’s glove in center field to make it 4-1 Baltimore. 

The Orioles added an unearned run in the fourth when Pat Valaika reached second on a fielding error by Marisnick and advanced to third on a Ruiz groundout. The first baseman was sent home on a Mullins triple, as the O’s slowly but surely broke away.

Robert Gsellman took over for Wacha in the fifth and he too, was unable to contain the O’s offense. He woefully gave up six runs in four innings of relief- with a pair of homers to match Wacha’s two surrendered. 

The trouble started early for Gsellman as he promptly allowed four runs on three hits in the fifth. It started with a one-out Pedro Severino double- who moved to third on a passed ball by Wilson Ramos. Gsellman then walked DJ Stewart with two outs and Valaika singled on a sharp ground ball to short that drove in a run. The reliever couldn’t seem to get out of his own way as a wild pitch sent Stewart running for the Orioles first and third. Unable to stop the bleeding, Ruiz sent a three-run moonshot out of right field to make it a 9-1 ball game. Gsellman struck out Mullins swinging to end the frame. 

The twenty-seven year old settled in and tossed a 1-2-3 sixth inning. He surrendered a leadoff walk to Severino in the seventh but put his next three away in order with the help of a 5-4-3 double play. 

Gsellman returned for the eighth and instantly let up a solo homer to Valaika. Mullins knocked a one-out infield hit, and the Orioles tacked on another run with an Iglesias single to make it 11-1, O’s. Gsellman then exited the game with an apparent injury and Brad Brach came in with a runner on first and two outs. He sent Nunez down swinging.

Brach came back for the ninth to close out the evening and gave up a one out-double, with nothing else across for Baltimore. He earned all four of his outs via strikeout, and lowered his ERA to a 1.50 with one and 1/3 shutout innings thrown.

OFFENSE

‘Twas a bleak night for Mets’ hitters not named Jeff McNeil. The squirrel was 2-for-3 with a walk and a homer.

McNeil got the Mets’ opening hit with a leadoff single in the first. In the following inning, Jake Marisnick cut the Orioles’ 2-0 lead in half as he knocked a two-out, solo homer to center field to get the club on the board. Andres Gimenez then notched a two-out single but was left stranded.

The Mets had nothing across for the next three frames. They had a lone baserunner when McNeil drew a walk in the sixth, but could not capitalize. 

Marisnick knocked his second extra base hit of the night with a two-out double in the home half of the seventh. Nothing came of it. 

The Mets earned a small morsel of satisfaction when McNeil knocked a solo home run out of right field in the eighth for his third straight game with a homer. Despite the individual accomplishment, it was in fact a small feat as the run barely made a dent in the team’s nine-run deficit at 11-2. Todd Frazier singled with one out in the ninth but it was too little, too late as New York looks to turn it around tomorrow. 

Pete Alonso went 0-for-4 and snapped his five-game hit streak. 

ON DECK

The Mets look to avoid a sweep tomorrow with the last of the two-game series against the O’s on Wednesday evening. 

Rick Porcello (1-4, 5.54 ERA) will get the start for the New York. In his last outing against the Phillies, the 31-year-old threw six innings and allowed two runs on three hits with two walks and six strikeouts. 

The Orioles starter is still to be determined. 

First pitch at Citi Field will be at 7:10 PM on September 9th. The game will be televised by SNY and broadcast on WCBS 880-AM.